Being Lost: Ryoga's New Beginning
by Tury Screma
Summary: Ryoga witnesses what he once thought impossible. As his world burns down around him he attempts to escape from the pain...
1. Hope, Fear, Suprise, and Loss

If you have found this story, chances are that you are all too familiar with Ranma 1/2 fanfictions and are (therefore) all too familiar with disclaimers. So if you need to be told which of the characters found herein are the creations of the great Rumiko Takahashi and not mine, then I suggest you seek psychological help.

"Spoken words"

'thoughts'

telepathic messages probably won't be used

signs

… long pause

- short pause

**Bieng Lost: Ryogas New Beginning**

Chapter 1: Hope, Fear, Suprise, and Loss...

_Tell me, Takahashi-Muse, the story of that lost boy who was driven to wander far and wide after the loss of many a piece of bread. He has seen the cities of many people and he learnt their ways. He has suffered great anguish over the course of his journeys to declare his love. Yet for all of his training, he has not the strength to do so. Show us his folly's that lead to the tales lost in time. Tell us this story, oh mistress of Manga, beginning at whatever point you will… _

Ryoga had stopped trying to keep track of what day it was many years ago. He was barely aware of the time of year it was. Theseasons were his only clue as to how much time was passing by. The dates and times in his endless challenge letters were meant to give Ranma the impression that he was slightly more competent, and so he could be ready to fight him. (Ryoga's sense of honor was such that if his opponent didn't fight completely unrestrained, then he could never accept victory.(

"I suppose I shouldn't expect anything more…" he thought out loud.

Ryoga was under the firm impression that it was the dry season for the jungle he was training in, so it was to his great surprise to be nearly caught in a torrential downpour in the middle of his training. His fear of his curse becoming known to the world had trained his senses to detect almost the smallest droplets of rain. Asi it was, he had dove frantically for the nearest cover without thinking. Now he sat in a 2x2 foot square of dryness while he watched as his pack (along with all his supplies) was becoming soaked. And sitting atop it all was his umbrella; the rain beading of its lacquered surface in an image worthy of the most prestigious art gallery.

He then took a moment to take in his surroundings. His inability to get to where he wanted to go had caused all scenery to blend together long ago, so he rarely had the opportunity to truly appreciate the sights.

"Somehow I expected the Amazon to have more trees" He muttered to himself. 'And who would have thought that they had sanitation services way out here. Didn't somebody say something about the rainforest controlling the World's weather?' He thought as he leaned against a small and incredibly neglected garbage can. 'It probably wasn't a good idea to put all these buildings here'

The wind was blowing so hard as to cause the rain to fall at a very sharp angle. So as long as he stayed hunched down behind the can, the rain would pass over him. "Oh Akane!" he breathed heavily "Because it's for you, I can handle anything!" he declared to himself, more than to anyone else. "It doesn't matter how far away we are; in my mind, I'm always with you."

If Ryoga could only look around the corner, he would see a well worn sign that read "Tendo Dojo - Challengers Welcome". (with a none too recent X through the second part) In fact, if he could but peer over the wall next to him, he would have seen the subject of his every waking thought sitting at her window, listening to the sound of the rain and writing furiously into her diary. Such as it was, his heart may have been with Akane, but his mind was in Brazil.

"One day Akane! One day I will finally profess my love to you! On that day when I finally…" His words caught in his throat as he realized that the wind was dying down. Reflexively he reached behind himself and yanked the metal lid off of the can, which was currently his only defense, and held it over his head as a makeshift umbrella. Ryoga suddenly sweat-dropped despite the cold and slapped himself with his free hand. "Why didn't I do that in the first place!" he berated himself.

A sickly sour and incredibly thick scent soon answered his question as he realized that there had been garbage _on top _of the can. And now it had found a new home on his lap. Frustrated, he reached down to brush it off when something burst out of the pile of refuse and latched onto his arm with a loud "SSSSSKKKRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" He answered back as he shook his arm violently trying to dislodge it as he felt his skin start to burn. The creature wobbled and shifted like looking at a Jell-O mold while you were stoned. Ryoga's wildly swinging arm slammed into the wall next to him; sending pieces of the entity flying in all directions. Ryoga thought he caught a glimpse of mushrooms, some alien meat, and some form of spicy pickled cabbage. (among other things)

The desperate blow had removed a large section from the wall of the Tendo compound. His mind preoccupied, Ryoga hadn't yet noticed.

**------------**

(7 hours earlier)

"RANMA SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!" Mousse screamed at the top of his lungs as he charged at an unkempt shrub across the street from the Tendo home. Mousses sleeves practically exploded forth sending everything from spears to yo-yo's at the unfortunate piece of greenery; shredding it in under 5 seconds. Mousse froze with a set of bowling pins nearly clogging his sleeves. "Can it be true? Have I finally defeated Ranma! Shampoo my love you will be m…" **BAM**

"Sh...sh...shampoo!" Mousse managed to squeak before passing out, a large footprint adorning his face.

"Awww crap... gotta get ridda this..." A well built and pigtailed boy dressed in red thought hurriedly to himself, a small box quivering in his hands.

Ranma ran to the front door of the Tendo Dojo and reached out to open it when he heard a faint humming on the other side. 'Great!' If Kasumi sees me I'm done for!' he thought as the box in his hands jerked violently.

'Gotta get ridda' this!' his mind screamed. Frantically he began mentally searching for other entrances to the house. "The garden!" Ranma whispered to himself, gently snapping his fingers. The box began to twist and jerk violently as he ran around the house as fast as he could while still remaining silent. Large patio doors came into view as he rounded the corner when…

"I've got you now, Saotome!" Soun cried.

In an attempt to avoid detection, Ranma jumped away without thinking and thudded into a tree.

What was that? Panda Genma's hastily scribbled sign read.

Probably just another rival or suitor… or both." sighed Soun. Suddenly a mixture of joy, pride, rage, and pent up insanity caused him to begin crying uncontrollably, and (rising to his feet with his fist in the air) he cried, "Our children are so popular! They will make us so proud Saotome!" Genma followed suit and, with tears flowing down his cheeks, signed You said it my friend! (Unfortunately for Soun, he failed to notice the sliced onion roll out of Genma's hand, and Genma's foot rearranging the pieces on their Shogi board. (1)

Fortunately, for Ranma, they were both so teary eyed to notice him leaping over the compound wall into the ally between their house and their neighbors. (2) "Kami! Do those two ever do any work!" he said; loud enough to vent his frustration but quiet enough to be drowned out by Soun's wailing. (This had increased since he had discovered that he was now loosing the game… horribly.)

Smoke had begun to curl up and out of the box. His eyes scanned the area, desperate for any help. 'I'd even accept help from Kuno or Mousse,' he laughed inwardly. 'But where would I find them?'

In front of the Tendo home, a white robed and trampled figure slowly began to pull itself up. Only to be run over once more; this time by an attractive blue haired girl on a bicycle. Mousse reached out towards the fleeting figure and moaned "Sham-poooooo!" before passing out once more.

Luck seemed to smile on Ranma as he noticed an old garbage can not 5 feet away. "Well, it's not the garbage _disposal_ or the furnace, but I'll take it." he thought aloud. As he reached out to remove the lid a loud tomboyish voice drifted in on the wind from not far enough for Ranma to have any comfort, "RANMA! Where are you?"

"Oh crap… Akane!" He gasped, dropping the boxes and bounding away to intercept her.

The box dropped heavily onto the lid of the unopened garbage can and banged around angrily for a few minutes more before it resumed smoking once again.

------------

5 minutes later…

"Of course I ate the lunch you made me Akane. Uh… it was great." Ranma lied, forcing a laugh as a large sweat-drop ran down the back of his head.

"Really!" Akane exclaimed, her eyes shining with happiness. "It was a new recipe I just learned in cooking class. Oh, I hope the dumplings weren't overdone." She sighed suddenly.

"Nope!" Ranma stated, feeling more confident, "They were just right." He said with a smile.

"That's great!" Akane smiled, a large vein popping out of her forehead. (a fact that Ranma had **not** failed to notice)

"Oh-no…"

Suddenly the sky turned as black as ink, the very foundations of the earth began to tremble and crack, all water in Nerima became like blood as the fires of hell seemed to engulf the ground around the helpless Ranma Saotome. Akane reached across time and space and withdrew her Mallet of **Doom**. Pulling it into this reality she swung it with all her might and connected with the bottom of Ranma's chin with enough force to send him rocketing off toward the horizon, Akane's voice trailing behind him. (3)

"It was **CURRY**! You **JERK! **"

------------

Later that night…

'I have seen it with my own eyes. Watched it happen on more than one occasion. And I still can't believe it!' Ranma's mind screamed as he stroked the large sore lump on his chin. 'If something is dead when you cook it, has had no real life otherwise, and is scientifically beyond all possibility of sentient existence, then how can Akane's cooking keep attacking people… How can she keep cooking that poorly! Shouldn't she have realized that she was doing _something _wrong after the Military said they couldn't withstand any more losses and wouldn't answer our calls anymore!'

Ranma's place at the dinner table was to the right of his father, with their backs to the garden. Akane and her older sister Nabiki sat across from them. Soun sat at _his_ usual position at the head of the table; silently lying to himself that he had some kind of control of the goings on in his own home. Kasumi, his eldest daughter, sat opposite him, serving and refilling dishes like a machine as she had hundreds of nights before. Outside and unusually hard rain storm beat down on the roof; the harsh sound only adding to the tension. Ranma and his father had once again found themselves in a battle over food.Two lifetimesof Martial arts training had (once again) culminated in a battle over the last egg roll.

"You should honor you father Ranma!" Genma sneered, giving a hard tug on the unfortunate roll. "Things would be so much easier for you if you did. Why, by now you'd have a wife of your own to cook you all your meals. That way, you wouldn't have to steal mine!" Suddenly Genma twisted to his side trying to wrench it out of his son's grasp. Ranma followed the movement and added a jerk of his own, sending Genma sprawling onto his back, then flipped over onto his fathers chest; holding aloft the newly liberated egg roll in victory, and in clear view of his father.

"If I honored you half as much as you want I'd have been married nearly 50 times by now and you'd _still_ steal all my food!"

Ranma savored the moment of victory over his father as long as it took him to remember that there was food to be eaten. Still sitting on his father, he brought the egg-roll to his lips when…

"I meant to ask you son, 'How was the lunch Akane made fore you today?' I bet it was delicious." Genma said in a smoothly sincere tone.

"Are you CRAZY, Old Man?" Ranma said, completely shocked. (forgetting about the egg roll and the rooms current occupants) "You know as well as I do what she considers to be boiled water could be used as a lethal injection!"

The television suddenly abdicated its usual resting place in the corner of the room and was now in the hands of the _extremely_ angry Akane Tendo. All color drained from Ranma's face as he realized what he had done. He turned to her, searching frantically for the words that would calm her down and avert his impending inspection of the inner workings of the Sony Viewmaster she held. All he could muster was, "I… um… it's not…"

"**DRY UP AND DIE! " **Akane screamed.

She heaved the television as hard as she could. It shot across the table and connected with Ranma squarely in the chest, carried him through the thin paper wall and into the garden Koi pond. (4) The shallow pond cushioned his landing only very little and the weight of the television drove the air from her lungs. Ranma slowly stood up from the water, her clothes soggy and almost falling off. The pounding rain added another insult to the ever expanding pile as the sharp droplets stung her face. "I'm going to my room!" Akane yelled and stomped off.

Ranma could only stand and glare at his father, her eyes burning with hatred as Genma licked his fingers; consuming the last traces of the coveted side dish that Ranma had dropped when the television hit him. "Well, Ranma, you _are_ half girl, after all. Maybe you should learn to cook for yourself. Or better yet, learn to cook for a MAN! Because you'll never inherit our school if you're this weak!"

Ranma was fully prepared to kill his father when the sound of a wrecking ball hitting concrete shook the house. "There's one now!" Genma exclaimed, "Have a good life!" Ranma jerked forward, intending to tear his father's stomach out, but stopped herself. She had learned everything she knew from her father, so Genma knew all of Ranma's weaknesses. Somehow, he always had some obscure trick up his sleeve that he would use to beat her. Ranma's enemies, however, almost never learned. So mostly, they were helpless. And the prospect of absolute victory was much more appealing. 'Ryoga's challenge letter stated that he would arrive tomorrow, that means he's probably in New York, someplace. And no way could a duck bust down a wall.(5) That left Tatewaki Kuno. She enjoyed pounding on Kuno more than anyone else. So, for once, there was no one else Ranma could be happier to see. But she still had to have the last word, "This ain't over old man.!"

------------

Ryoga froze as he was tending to his injured arm. 'Was that _Ranma's _voice? All the way out _here_?' his mind shot out. Ryoga looked up and finally realized what he had done to the wall. 'I can't pay for that!' his mind screamed. Knowing that he couldn't win with all the rain, Ryoga did the only thing he could think of. He hid…

In the trashcan itself, to be precise.

So there he sat, in an alleyway, in the rain with a trashcan full of rancid food, used bandages and Nabiki's failed attempts at counterfeiting (quite literally) pulled down over his head. 'I can stay here until the rain stops, then get out and go see… sniff sniff then get out and go to a public baths, then go see my beloved Akane"

------------

She nearly tripped on a fish as she trudged out of the pond, and around the house toward the freshly made hole. "_Kuno_?" Ranma cooed, hoping to lure him out quickly. Five seconds passed, then 15. After 30 she tried again, a little more forcefully. "_Kuno!_" Ranma poked her head though the hole and looked around. 'Could Kuno actually understand the concept of a sneak attack?' She scanned the alleyway and suddenly spotted the overturned trashcan.

'OH-NO! Akane's lunch!'

For the second time that day, Ranma feared for her life. Slowly she brought her defense up and began to retreat back through the hole. 'Maybe the military will come just his once…"

**BANG**

Ranma whirled towards the sound, shreddinga trashcan with a frantic flurry of blows. Her heart pounded a counter-rhythm to the sound of the fragments of metal clattering off the walls of the ally. "What the hell!" she gasped between breaths. Jagged shards now coated the alleyway. Her senses were running on overdrive as she struggled to spot the dreaded box lunch. Something shot passed the corner of her eye, near the ground, then again off the wall behind her.

'Wait for it… wait for it…' she thought to herself, hands shaking almost violently. 'NOW!' Ranma struck with almost no thought. The back of her hand connected the blur, sending it flying into the opposite wall. It stuck for a moment, then fell to the ground with a plop. "Is that all you got!" She yelled. "I thought Akane's curry would have more kick!" The object slowly picked itself up, glared at her with intense hatred, and screamed…

"BWWWEEEEEEEEE!"

Ranma blinked, "Ryoga."

------------

Akane wrote furiously into her diary, her eyes squeezed shut and her pen strokes not so much writing words as tearing the pages apart. 'That ungrateful, insensitive, womanizing, egotistical, self-absorbed, uncaring, son-of-a-cheapskate, asshole!' she screamed to herself. 'I was just trying to be nice to him, and he didn't even look at the food! This is the last time! Tomorrow I'm telling my dad to get rid of them both! I…" Akane heard a loud scraping noise and opened her eyes. A large hole gaped open in the middle of her diary.

"Oops."

Akane pushed herself away from the desk, stood up, and stretched her arms out over her head. The cold air drifting in through her partially opened window sent a chill through her body. "Maybe a bath will calm my nerves."

------------

The hot water cascaded out of the faucet, filling the blue-tile lined bath. Steam rose from the rippling surface as she reached out and stopped the flow of water. "I can't believe you found your way here P-chan. Long time, no see…" The tiny black piglet kicked and squirmed in her grasp, scratching and biting wildly. "Now is that any way to greet your old friend." She extended her leg and stepped into the water. The figure grew a foot in height as vibrant red hair turned grease black, bright blue eyes tuned dark brown and flawless curves curled into well toned muscles. "I thought you'd be at least another week or so." Ranma said while tossing him at the wall. P-chan bounced off like a tennis ball and caught the end of a scrub brush as he dropped into a small bucket. The brush acted as a catapult on the rim of the bucket and launched a bar of soap across the room and into a loosely closed container of mineral bath. As P-chan sat in the bucket, stuck and upside-down, the container rocked back and forth precariously before falling forward and dumping its contents into the bath; thickly clouding the water.

Ranma swirled the water with his hand (having had previous bad experiences with stuff added to the water), 'Nothing weird happening… Oh well, Kasumi _is _always talking about how great this stuff is, so it must not be so bad.' Slowly he sank into the water.

------------

Akane walked down the stairs wrapped in her favorite robe, carrying a towel. She met Kasumi half way down, and stepped aside to let her pass. "Enjoy your bath Akane"her older sistersaid with her trademarkblissful smile. "Thanks."Akane replied sweetly, and continued toward the bathroom.

Hot steam and the scent of lavender caressed her face as she slid open the door that separated the toilet area from the bathtub and shower. She looked down at the steaming, cloudy water. 'I guess Kasumi read my mind. I really should thank her more often.' she thought as she set down her towel, shed her robe and stepped into the water.

A black, shaggy object floated atop the water. 'What the heck is that? Is it a rag or something?' She reached down and grabbed it, roughly attempting to yank it from the water. It came up surprisingly easily, followed by an equally surprised Ranma.

For a time, they just sat there; eyes locked on another. This was the first time that they were this close and unclothed. The sudden shock of it all had caused their normal reactions of hostility to be lost in a flood of confusion and latent hormones. For the first time they just stared, each admiring the other.

Ranma was the first to come to. "Akane… uh… what are you doing in… um… my bath?"

Long ago, Akane's brain had learned to go straight from "Non-functional" to "Super P.M.S. class Irrationality". 'How can he be this _DEPRAVED!_'

"You **_PERVERT!_**"

Her scream shook the house as her hand became a blur, Ranma's face its target.

**CRACK**

Akane froze, once again in shock. Situations like this had happened countless times before in innumerable different forms. With one major difference, this time he had caught her hand.

"Stop it."

His voice wasn't loud, but commanding nonetheless; and completely uncharacteristic. His eyes were cold and completely devoid of their usual cocky fire; it was as if the crack hadn't been the sound of Ranma catching her hand, but the breaking of some facet of Ranma's mind. "You never listen, you never think. This isn't the first time this has happened Akane, so don't act so surprised. This hasn't been a good day and I won't do this anymore."

"R-Ranma?"

"Akane, your food tried to _kill_ me. It always tries to kill me; whether or not tryto eat it."

It was at this moment P-chan managed to free himself from the bucket and was now deeply involved in his own system reboot. And all _he_ could do now was stare in shock as the impossible, it seemed, was coming true.

"I _know_ you mean well, but that only accounts for so much." Whatever had snapped inside him seemed to be quickly turning into powder. "I drew this bath for myself, why you just climbed in is beyond me. Yes, you are surprised, but you have no right to slap me. Okay."

Either from the hot water, the closeness, or the shocking dialogue, Akane had broken out in a bright red blush. "I – but –your… your right." She managed to say. "Why… Why haven't you said anything before?"

Ranma shook his head, "I never had a chance; you never really gave me one." He gave a heavy sigh. "I'll leave if… you want."

"Ye – no… I should leave… I guess."

Ranma turned his head and let go of her wrist. Akane turned and stepped out of the tub. No sooner had her foot touched the floor when Ranma's next sentence froze her very blood.

"You can stay… if you want."

Akane turned back to look at him, now Ranma was the one blushing as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"Ran – ma."

She slowly turned back and took his hand.

"A-ka-ne."

Slowly they moved closer, their faces now inches apart.

"**_NOOOOOO!"_** P-chan's mind screamed in immeasurable pain. He ran blindly through the sliding paper doors, down the hall, crashed through the kitchen like an errant cannonball, and slammed into Kasumi's teapot. The hot water seared his flesh while it changed him back to a human. The pain registered as less than nothing next to the feeling of his heart as it was torn to shreds. The back door flew off its hinges as he burst through it, not noticing or caring that the rain had stopped. Running blindly across the yard, Ryoga shot through the hole in the wall and turned randomly. Luck smiled upon him mockingly and turned him in the direction of his belongings. Grabbing his clothes and bag without slowing, he ran crying into the night; cursing whatever god had watched over him all these years and given him nothing but pain.

Author notes:

1. Shogi – the Japanese version of chess.

2. Kami – Japanese name for the god of the earth.

3. The Mallet of Doom – Akane's ultimate attack.

4. Koi – a type of fish kept in traditional Japanese gardens.

5. When splashed with cold water, Mousse becomes a Duck.


	2. Numbness, Shock, Pain, and Gain

Ryoga and the well are the creations of the Anime-Goddess Rumiko Takahashi and belong to no one else. The feudal era of Japan is the creation of the Japanese people, and is apparently up for grabs. Everything else, **I **made all by myself. Because I'm a Big Boy now! Oddly enough, the formatting of this site is weird, I would usually use Asterisks to show the passage of time but they wont show up on this site so just try to stay aware of what is going on until I figure out what to do. Anyway the characters I have made here I have copyrighted for myself as of 9/12/05, just in case. Enjoy!

-Tury

"Spoken words"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 2: Numbness, Shock, Pain, and Gain

'Running… always running. I never stop running. I _run_ from place to place, I _run _into challenges, I _run_ from my problems, my fears. I'm just, always running. I'm not a man, I'm weak, I'm… nothing.'

Ryoga's footfalls pounded through the empty streets. Years of transforming from one form to another had programmed his body to dress itself. People slept peacefully in their beds taking no notice of the half-naked lost soul charging aimlessly through the neighborhoods.

'I have no friends; I haven't seen my parents in the last 10 years. No real home… I… _have_ nothing. All these years of chasing Ranma because of _bread_; what do I have to show? Lost time, lost fights, lost… lost love?' Ryoga's largest driving force through the years had been the hope that Akane would learn to love him like she loved P-chan, but now even that was gone. 'She never even really loved P-chan. I was just a comfort, nothing more.' This sudden realization slammed mercilessly into his tattered psyche; all strength left his body and he was sent sprawling forward. A weathered stone stairway was waiting to break his fall. The hot tears running down his cheeks burned like lava, refusing to let him forget the pain of the truths he had long held at bay with his once boundless hope.

A nearby streetlamp flicked on and off, illuminating the area for a split second like a flash of lightning. Down the street a dog knocked over a garbage can while chasing a cat creating a loud resonating **boom **not unlike thunder.

This sudden intrusion caused Ryoga's head to jerk up in surprise. Before the light had a chance to completely fade he spotted a well sized (and fairly ornate) hut atop the steps as his mind began to shut itself down. Longtime instincts took hold of his thought process. "Going to rain again soon, best get inside…" he said emotionlessly to no one, his eyes stared blankly into the darkness as he began to crawl up the steps.

As he reached the hut he hauled himself to his feet, mumbling 'Musn't change back, can't let Akane know…" fresh tears pouring down his cheeks. The door slid open easily and he stepped inside; closing the door behind him. "Hello?" he called in a weak voice "Anyone in h-" his words were cut off as he stepped forward onto nothing. A short trip down a flight of old stairs followed and he was deposited onto a dirt floor that was currently trying its hand at being mud.

He sat up slowly, to slowly. His blank eyes began to adjust to the darkness and an old well came into view. 'No home, no friends, no victory, no respect, no honor, no love… they won't notice I'm gone, will they? Not until my letters stop coming, then they'll just think I gave up and went to a home I don't have anymore." A hopeless grin spread across his face, the kind reserved for soldiers with no escape and no other alternative but fight to the death. Except that Ryoga had no one to fight.

He rose to his feet and pulled the straps of his backpack around his shoulders for added weight. "Better for everyone…" he said while staring into the well's black abyss. He turned around and sat on its edge, taking one last breath before the end. "I wish… that I had someone… to say goodbye to." he said aloud in a final lament. Slowly he leaned back, intending to let the weight of his pack do the work. The well was not as big as he thought, however, and as his body tipped backward his head banged against the opposite side.

Ryoga's world went black, as his body plunged into nothingness.

Outside, the streetlamp flicked on once again; illuminating a small sign hidden in the bushes to the right of the stairs.

**Higurashi Family Shrine – **Visitors Welcome

**------------**

The trees of the thick forest stretched across the land, seeming endless and perfect representations of the beauty of nature. The waves of sunlight that illuminated the area cascaded down from the heavens at a leisurely pace; slowing to gently move around the leaves and branches in a gesture of politeness. Birds sang songs of testament to their happy little place in the world, and all seemed good for once.

A young girl, seeming to match the pace of the friendly rays of light, moved along a small and beaten path that was leading her home. She wore a traditional kimono (in a liberal sense) blotched with numerous stains of equally as many colors. The base color was a watery blue with the visage of falling sakura blossoms. The tree of their origin made its home in the area of the dress-robe that covered her upper back. One sleeve was torn off at the elbow and the threads have been left to unravel over the passage of time. That same elbow was supporting a smalland poorly woven wicker basket that was currently filled with flowers and herbs of all different kinds. Well worn gata sandals separated her feet from the ground, with no socks as to add protection from the rough wood. The girl herself was fairly slender. Her form was well-worked, yet malnourished. Almost dangerously slender, yet toned enough to compensate. A bust of perfectly formed B+ cups that would seem to guarantee the men would come running, and hips just slight enough to limit any resulting offspring that kept the men hesitating were her blessing and curse. Her hair was a strikingly amazing mixture of pale yellow and gold; and seemed to have a glow all its own. Tied up in a completely random fashion, as it was, gauging its actual length would be next to impossible. It could very well be anywhere from three inches to three feet long. Her face betrayed none of her beauty, and her expression abandoned it all to the wind. Her large eyes, topped with above averagely sized eyebrows, were a shade of brown that bordered on being red and contained no life; her nose was small and her mouth seemed to be no more than a straight line below it. Most notable of her face was the complete lack of person. If one were to look at her they would instantly believe her to simply float from one day to the next. Doing the motions every day and going to sleep every night with no expectations of the next day.

Halfway home and not caring in the slightest, she just kept walking. Unaware of the admirer she had, watching her from atop the branches of the trees she walked under. Moving like a shadow only when necessary to obtain a better view of the object of it's desire. Fordays he had watched her, thinking and waiting, watching and planning. And the time was finally at hand. In two short leaps it was ahead of her and ready to act. 'Now or never…' he thought to himself; and lowered himself from a low hanging branch into view.

A slight rustling of leaves caught her attention and she craned her neck to identify the source. An abomination of nature entered her sight and, deep inside herself, she recoiled in disgust. His toes were long and multi-jointed, legs that seemed to poses no muscle and 3 knees attached his feet to his disgustingly visible pelvis. A small pot belly sagged over it and narrowed down sharply to form his skin to his spine. That rose into a rickety ribcage that bobbed visibly with every heartbeat and doubled in size with every breath. No neck was visible through the numerous flaps of skin that seemed to be melting off his skull. The creatures lower jaw extended a good 3 ½ inches past his upper lip. A hooked nose, bloodshot dark green eyes, and patches of hair topped this horrendous form. The girl stopped and stared, one thought entered her head 'Demon!', but she said nothing…

"Hey girlie…" the creature slobbered, "Name's Kithra… you want I can show you 'round my woods; and maybe a good time while were at it." He said, stifling a chuckle. To which the girl flatly replied, "No thank you, I just want to get back with these herbs." Kithra looked genuinely disappointed, "Aiight… have it your way…" he drooled before rising back into the trees. The girl resumed her walking and found herself not twenty feet further before a loud thud sounded behind her. She turned slowly around and found Kithra standing there, a large sickening grin across his face. "Too bad about your choice girlie; guess I'll be the only one having fun." And he began to quickly advance on her.

The girl turned and ran for all she was worth; the gata's went flying as her legs pumped hard to flee her deranged (would-be) rapist. Tree branches, bushes and rocks shot past in a blur and she quickly lost sight of the path. 'Villagers can protect me! Must get back home!' her mind screamed. All around her she could hear his deranged laughing though the trees as he toyed with her, savoring every moment of her terror. A deformed hand reached out of nowhere and grasped at her kimono, tearing off the remaining sleeve.

In a happening as predictable as her expression, she stumbled; but unlike others that might find themselves in such a situation, she recovered and began running faster. Again a hand reached from behind to grab her, but this time was only rewarded with air. She craned her head to see how close he was and immediately regretted it. No more than 3 feet away, and obviously not exerting himself, Kithra seemed to behaving the time of his life. As she turned her head the girl entered into a small clearing without noticing and her lower half slammed into a small wooden-toped well. The world suddenly shifted itself around her and she was deposited on the other side of her recent obstruction. Her vision spun as she struggled to stand; then she felt saliva begin to coat her shoulder... In a desperate burst of long dormant emotion she screamed…

"**HELP ME!"**

**------------**

"Am I dead yet?" Ryoga thought to himself as he slowly returned to consciousness. He quickly looked around and took stock of his current setting. Stone walls on each side with a dirt floor above him and sunlight below him… 'Wait… that's not right… Am I upside-down?' he thought to himself. His large pack propped him up at an awkward 60 degree angle. His legs were bent up towards his head and were wedged near his ears and against the wall because of gravity. In essence, he was stuck. Suddenly his overly sensitive ears picked up the sound of desperate footfalls. Shortly after he heard a thud and the light above him was cut off for a moment. Ryoga flexed his feet and placed them on the bottom of the well; he then pushed off from the ground with his hands and slipped his arms through the straps of his backpack. In a moment, he was standing upright. He reached down and retrieved his previously restricting pack when a desperate cry for help resounded down the well.

Ryoga reacted instantly, he leapt straight up as high as he could and caught himself from falling back down by digging his fingers directly **into **the walls, the stones caved like warm sand in the wake of his superhuman strength. From here he threw himself up further, "Once more… ALMOST THERE!"

**------------**

The girl's vision cleared and she looked up, Kithra stood atop the well staring down at her. "Thanx fer the foreplay girlie… but now I think it's time I get to the really good part!' He extended his foot to step down, but was stopped while it was still in midair. At that exact moment a dark figure shot up out of the well, landed with its feet on either side of the frame and grasped his exposed spine. Kithra had a mere moment to feel surprise before he was torn in half and thrown in 2 opposite directions. Black-purplish goo shot from either end of his form and coated this new arrival. Unnoticed by all, a large bag flew out of the hole just behind the figure, arced through the air, and landed behind him with a thick and heavy thud. The girl stared numbly as the bandana-clad figure gazed down at her and said "Where is Furinkan High…" before passing out, and falling forwardto land on his face.

**------------**

Ryoga awoke many hours later, the now noon day sun beat down relentlessly on the once paradise-like forest. Almost like punishment for the trees harboring such an affront to creation within its borders. His eyes, coated in partially dried demon blood, needed to be pried open and immediately snapped shut again at the sudden flood of light. They opened again a few moments later, slowly this time. The world came into focus and he lifted himself up from the ground. The strange blood trailed off his face and hands' making sure their presence was known.

"What is this stuff?" He wondered aloud, his eyes passed over Kithra's two halves. "What the heck is…? Where am I?" He shook his head in frustration, "I guess that fate wants to have more fun at my expense. Maybe I should go back to my old house… I might actually find someone there." Ryoga forgot about his pack, brushed himself off,and wanderedinto the trees.

'Wait. Wasn't that well inside a building? Wasn't I in Tokyo?' He wondered to himself. 'Whatever. There must be something around here somewhere.'

**------------**

Chaos reigned in the miniscule streets of the nothing nearby town. About an hour prior, one of its less noticed residents had run in from the forest, soaked in demon blood and screaming about monsters. It took awhile for anyone to notice, and then suddenly everyone in town needed to help. They crawled out of the woodwork and began offering their opinions to anyone they saw. In the confusion, the girl had disappeared, and now that the citizens had nothing to focus their attention on, everyone had something that desperately needed to be done. On one side of the street, a woman and her children ran frantically to their home, while across the street a man stumbled in the opposite direction; pieces of heavy cloth and lacquered leather falling off his body. One man brought out a katana, then two more appeared, then four. Suddenly a town militia was formed, and named as their leader was the young headman of the town. His name was Jun'ko Yone. His hair was tied in a traditional Japanese Top-Knot and the color of ashes, his bushy eyebrows were a perfect match and his eyes were dark brown. His body was well nourished and highly toned, the kind of body you get from working in fields all your life. Lacquered armor that obviously did not belong to him was strapped to his body haphazardly with random ropes and pieces of clothing. Currently, he was attempting to organize the men of the town into a defensive wall against the unknown terror of the forest. 22 men stood eleven abreast in two semi-straight lines.

"This ain't a sword, it's a STICK!" someone yelled.

"Whaddaya do wid' da pointy end?" A man wielding a fencepost yelled to no-one.

"Are we getting' paid for this?" A third man asked.

"Stop being IDIOTS, and get into…" All movement and questioning stopped suddenly and abruptly when 22 sets of eyes locked on a lone figure that was exiting the forest. It was roughly 5 1/2 feet tall. Its hair was black and shaggy, its eyes were brown and downcast, clad in a yellow shirt and dark pants. It omitted an aura felt by all the villagers, who were currently at lest 100+ yards away. Most notably, it was oozing dark blue blood.

"DEMON!" Jun'ko cried.

This was all the permission the newbie-militia needed and the sky was filled with arrows.

The eternally lost boy reached a hand up and pulled a branch out of way with a shaky hand. Having (quite literally) walked in circles for two hours he had finally seen light beyond the trees. In a desperate fit of brilliance he forced himself to walk _away _from the light. So, naturally, he went straight to it. What greeted his eyes was a wide open field and a row of soldiers; who were, apparently, completely absorbed with watching the woods behind him.

"A TOWN!" He began to walk towards the men in the distance, a straight line. "That's weird. Why would I be going straight to them?" In the distance someone screamed "DEMON!" and a hail of arrows filled the sky and began to tear apart the woods behind him.

"DEMON?"

Ryoga broke into a flat run.

Arrows began to pelt the ground around him.

"HE'S CHARGEING! **SLAY HIM!**" An ashen haired man screamed.

'Oh CRAP!' Ryoga screamed to himself. "He must be right behind me!" He began to pump his legs for all he was worth.

"**SWORDS!**"

The line of men responded to their commander and immediately the air was awash with the flash of Japanese steel.

"CHARGE!"

The men hesitated and took only a few tentative steps forward.

"Woe that I should spend the last moments of my life amongst such cowards." Jun'ko murmured to himself. Acting quickly he ran ahead of his men to pose as an inspiring example, turning for a moment to call out **_"CHARGE!"_** The men, emboldened by his courage, began sprinting after him.

"Better get out of the way of these guys."

An unusually tall rock ahead of him appeared to be an excellent launching point to get behind them. Acting on there own, Ryoga's legs chambered themselves and propelled him upward. He extended a leg and landed on the rock, only to re-chamber his legs and leap clear over the line of charging men. "Strange. That was an awfully soft rock." Landing with ease he turned to watch the battle, "This oughta' be good." He said, smiling to himself. It took him a moment to notice that the soldiers had turned and were now looking at him.

"Such an agile demon!" One of the men said.

"Oh NO!" Ryoga whispered to himself, "It's still behind me!" He snapped around into a fighting stance and reached for his umbrella and retrieved nothing. 'I forgot my things by the well!' He quickly scanned the field and saw nothing. "Don't turn your back to me you vile demon!" Not coming out of his stance, Ryoga turned his head 'What the heck is he talking to?' The man with the ashen hair stood between him the men. "Who are you talking to? And why do you have a footprint on your face?" The man turned red with anger and numerous veins were visible on his forehead. "You jumped on me you _vile creature_!" He yelled back. "Now DIE!"

The pupils of Ryoga's eyes shrank violently as the truth finally dawned on him. "Uh ooooohhh…" The man who had been yelling at him reached Ryoga first. His finely crafted katana flashed gloriously in the sunlight as it arced toward his targets heart. 'Is he serious?' Ryoga thought to himself. He spun with incredible velocity and swatted the sword out of his assailants grip with his right hand. The sword tumbled through the air and landed with its blade stuck in the dirt. Following through with his momentum his leg swung around and crashed into the side of the young man's ribs, sending him skidding across the grass. He completed his circle and ran headlong into the soldiers. A tightly balled fist pounded into the face of the first unfortunate man to get within range. He flew back with such force that he took out the other man behind him. Once again following the flow of his energy, he turned to his left. Swinging his leg outside and behind him his foot smashed into the side of another man before swinging forward and connecting with the chin of the third. He then brought the leg down to cross in front of the other in a quick step to the right. Whipping his right leg around this time he took the legs out from under the next man. Before he had a chance to fall, Ryoga's elbow shot down into his solar plexus; **forcing** him down. The next man in his path lunged at him with what appeared to be a fencepost. Ryoga grabbed the man's hand with his left and brought his right in an upward half-circle into his elbow; easily reversing the joint like snapping a toothpick. The man's hand opened and Ryoga caught the makeshift club as it fell. He quickly pushed off the ground while throwing the stick at the head of another soldier, and twisted in midair to kick off the back of the reversed-arm-man's head, shoving him into the ground and Ryoga channeled the force into another back flip. While completely upside-down he caught the armor of the next man and landed neatly behind him. Bracing his legs into the ground he easily lifted the man over his head and swung him in a circle taking out another three men and let go just as quickly when no other people were in range; not caring where the body landed.

Thirty feet away, Jun'ko slowly began to haul himself to his feet. One of his men came flying out of nowhere and slammed into his already sore chest; knocking him down, and out of consciousness once again.

Back at the battle, Ryoga sprung upward again and snapped both his legs out at a 135 angle; connecting his feet into the faces of the two remaining soldiers on that end of the line. He spun without hesitation and leaped over the 13 recently flattened men and landed on the face of the 14th. He was again faced with another two men, he yanked their helmets from their heads and smashed them both in the face with these new makeshift gauntlets. As the men were forced down by the blow, the leather helms slipped from his grip and landed on the ground. He leaned forward fluidly and placed his hands inside them. Swinging his body up and extending his legs outward into the shape of a Y. His heels contacted another set of two men in the throat, pulling them down as he bent his legs forward. He spared them the extra damage that landing on them would cause and turned his feet away from their necks as they all hit the ground. Now in an arching position, he was completely exposed and the two new men in front of him capitalized. They swung their swords downward at his legs and stomach respectively. 'Just what I expected.' Ryoga thought, grinning to himself. He quickly jerked his upper body forward into a crouching position and blocked the blades with the helms still on hands. He ran them down the length of the blades and shoved the tips through a weakened fold in the leather. Grasping the unsharpened sides he effortlessly bent them inward towards each other. He then twisted the blades out of the hands of their shocked owners then jerked them upward violently to hit them in the soft-spot of their jaws, dislocating them both. They dropped like rag dolls.

The last two men stood before him, the one on the left shaking violently with fear. The one on the right cried out "DIE you **PIG!**" and, gripping the sword with only one arm, tried to skewer him through the stomach with it. '_**PIG!**' _Ryoga's mind screamed. He dodged inward and caught the man's right arm with his left. Yanking him in close he flattened his right palm and struck the man in the armpit repeatedly until he felt the joint give way. He then ducked under the arm and pulled the body it fell over his back. With all his might he leaped upward, pushing the man up with him. Ryoga straightened his body and the unfortunate soul rolled off his back. The bandana clad warrior brought his leg up, spun in mid-air, then snapped it back down into his targets back; sending him crashing down onto the ground. Ryoga landed, quickly looked around, and spied the final man running like hell for the town.

"What is he running fr…? Oh! Yeah…" He strode over to where the sword from the first man had landed in the ground. The handle was painted red and wrapped in ceremonial fashion with black leather. The blade was perfectly polished and had a bloodletter running the length of the perfectly curving blade. On one side, near the hand guard the kanji for "Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire" were engraved into the metal. On the other side was the kanji for "Strength, Manner, Honesty, and Control," 'Nice weapon' he thought to himself while pulling it out of the ground. Propping it on his shoulder, he then walked over to the boy with the ash-colored hair and nudged his face with his foot. "You alright?" He asked.

Jun'ko opened his eyes slowly and gazed upward. The inhuman thing from the forest gazed down upon him. His clothes were tattered and worn and most all his body was coated with that same purple liquid and sweat. His brown eyes were friendly and free of any hatred of malice and fangs shone through his smile. Jun'ko then realized that this _thing_ was carrying his own sword in a ready position. "T-take the sword, just don't kill me!" he said, shielding his face with his arms. Ryoga's face blanked for a moment, "Alright… whatever you say." Jun'ko peered through his arms at this terrible thing. "What is it you want!" he pleaded. Ryoga gazed down at him for a moment before responding, "Where is Furinkan High school?"

**------------**

Ryoga spent awhile moving the men to a place where they could get medical care while being careful not to injure them further. A fact that did not go unnoticed by the towns residences. One hour later the town physician pronounced himself the wealthiest man in town, and a young man suddenly took up indigo dyeing as his new profession. Ryoga sat in the middle of the field admiring his new weapon while surrounded by a circle of terrified and heavily bandaged men. Further back was a larger circle created by the towns other residents. 'This will have to do until I get my umbrella back.' The man with the ashen hair sitting across from him had introduced himself as the leader of the town once he had regained the ability to breathe properly. "So… you come from where?" he asked. "Nowhere really, I don't really have a home and I am always getting lost. Which way is it to Tokyo?" Jun'ko stared blankly back at him. "Toe – key – owe? Is that food or something?" Ryoga stared back just as blankly, "Never mind. Anyway, it's getting late; I don't suppose you have a spare hut around do you?" Jun'ko's eyes flashed with anger. "You attack our village and then have the audacity to ask for lodging! As headman of this village I demand that you leave immediately you pathetic demon!" Ryoga glared back at him before breathing a heavy sigh. 'Not wanted anywhere…' He rose to his feet and brushed off his pants. "Fine I'm leaving!"

With that he turned and made to step past the terrified soldiers. But a young boy covered in purple paint jumped up and blocked his path. "You can't leave!" He said, his eyes focused but tearing from fear. "How do you expect to stop…?" He was cut off as the boy step past him to address the group. "This person bested all of us with merely a fraction of his effort, including you Jun'ko! Even more so, he spared all our lives after we _all_ tried to kill him. Just looking at him I know he could have done worse, even to you Kusona!" he shouted pointing at a man with a dislocated shoulder, misaligned spine and numerous fractured ribs. "And after all the things we called him and tried to do to him, he still greets us warmly. We can't just let him leave!" A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd. Jun'ko turned pale; things weren't going well for him. "Better for us yet, has no home! Our village has been without protection since our real warriors went off to war! Obviously we can't protect ourselves. Even our leaders can't defend us!" Jun'ko's feared his face would explode with all the pressure of the rage he felt. He wanted to scream until his lungs imploded, beat the boy senseless, and remove the head of this _RIAGA _or whatever his name was. But he could barely move as it was, and his throat was strangely dry.

"I say it is a time for change!" the crowd was really behind the kid at this point. "I say as our atonement, and for our secure future, we make this person here our new HEADMAN!" With this thunderous climax he thrust his tiny fist into the air; and the crowd erupted with cheers of approval. Not one person was apposed to the thought of being under the protection of the "Kurete Onimori" (Kindly Demon of the Forest) as they had already begun calling him.

Ryoga's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints and became whiter than a ghost. This was the last thing he would ever expect and he was having a hard time comprehending what was happening. There was lots of cheering and nervous laughter. Before they new it, a party had sprung up and those who didn't have injuries to remind them, had seemingly forgotten the whole thing. Jun'ko just sat there staring at him. Ryoga was to shocked to do anything and just let everything around him keep going.

After the sun went down and the food was gone the boy who had seemingly sealed his fate walked up to him smiling and holding a scroll and an oil lamp. His robes were at least a size and a half to large for him, his hands were lightly callused but his frame was very slight. Brown eyes and a flimsy facial frame and, most interesting of him, was his hair; he had no Top-knot Instead, his dark brown and unkempt circled from near to his shoulders in the back to just passed his eyes. "Here you go Onimori-sama, you can live here. It's the home of the old headman, before Jun'ko. His name was Masakimon Maigo. He and his son went off to war and haven't come back yet. His wife recently died of an illness and his daughter was taken by slave traders." Ryoga looked at the scroll warily. 'I don't wanna' have to be the one to tell that guy what has happened when he gets back.' "Uh… thanks. Can you… um… take me there?" The boy looked confused for a moment then smiled again. "Sure!" As he turned to walk away, Ryoga put a hand on his shoulder for assurance.

"So… what is your name?" The boy turned his head back for a second and replied, "Juronai… Juronai Mada! Nice to meet you." Ryoga grinned back, "Nice to meet you too."

It wasn't long before they arrived at the house; Ryoga quickly realized that the house was (by the standards of the day) a mansion. It was almost 60 feet long on each side and 2 stories tall. "Something about the forest makes the trees stronger than usual; Haigo-san was the only one of us patient enough to try something like this. Sleep tight!" With that, he handed Ryoga his oil lamp, turned and ran off home. "It does look comfortable... I guess I'll get this all straightened out in the morning." Ryoga was close enough to the door to make it through safely; but as he slid the door closed behind him the wind blew out his lamp. 'Feh, probably wouldn't help _me_ anyway. He placed his hand on the wall and started walking. 'If I keep my hand on the wall like this I _should _eventually reach a bedroom. After 2 hours and having to climb back in through a window of the house 4 times he made it to _a_ bedroom. Not the master bedroom that he had been looking for, but he was too tired to care. Strangely, the bed had no frame. It consisted of a thin mattress directly on the floor, thin sheets and no pillows. 'Like something out of the feudal era' he thought. As he began to remove his clothing he realized that he still had to get all the demon-blood off of his body and clothes. 'I'll get to it tomorrow…' He thought sleepily. He stripped down to his underwear, folded the clothes quickly and placed them at the head of the bed for a pillow. (He had lost far too many pieces of clothing by carelessly casting them aside and throwing them too far. There are fewer things more embarrassing than getting lost while picking up your own clothes.) 'Like wandering around a city for 5 hours in your underwear before you have a policeman lead you to a clothing store.' He laughed to himself.

He lifted the covers and slid under them in one motion. 'A real bed for once; the last time I was in a bed was when I was with…' tears formed at the corner of his eyes, 'with Akane.' Dozens of memories came flooding in from his past; of feeding time, play-time, sleepy-time… 'That was my favorite…' He let the good memories envelop him like a blanket. He could remember the sound of her breathing, the beat of her heart. He could almost smell Akane's flowery perfume, and feel the soft touch of her perfect skin. He quickly drifted off to sleep and the memories were becoming reality. Heaven, it seemed, was mere inches away. If you were to ask him right then, he would have sworn by all that he ever had that he was reliving those very moments. In the darkness of the bedroom of his new house a soft voice lightly call out the words "big brother". He then realized that he actually _could_ feel soft skin touching his. His eyes snapped open violently and his vision (freshly adjusted to the dark) showed him the face of a beautiful young girl who was sleeping quietly while snuggled closely against his chest. His arms, it seemed had wrapped themselves and he was holding her tightly. He did then what he would always do in a situation like this.

"**AHHHHHHHHH!"**

He screamed…

"**AHHHHHHHHHH!" **the girl replied.

They both scrambled out of bed and to the opposite sides of the room. Ryoga groped for the lamp and, creating a spark with his Ki, lit the oil and filled the room with light. Across the room from him, a half-naked, well-worked yet malnourished girl with impossibly blonde hair and near-red eyes stared back in terror.

Across the room a half naked and incredibly muscular young man with shaggy black hair, brown eyes and a bandana sat against the wall. Staring at her in shock and surprise.

They both, at the same exact time, raised their arms and pointed at each other and yelled…

"**YOU!"**

End of Chapter 2

Author's note

Thanks go out to the 3 people who were kind enough to review chapter 1! Sorry if I made you wait! I'm planning on making a series of stories out of this plot line and am really excited to see where it will go! I never meant for Ryoga to loose his umbrella, it just kind of happened. But don't worry, I'll be sure to get it back to him… eventually. Remember to review, flame if you want! I won't listen. LOL!

Higurashi family shrine – the home of Kagome Higurashi, main character of InuYasha. The sacred well her family watches over has the power to transport certain people through time.

Kimono – The traditional dress-robe like clothing of Japan.

Sakura trees – Also kown as cherry blossoms. They bloom on sakura trees at a specific time every year. Renowned for their beauty, they are an integral part of Japanese culture.

Ryoga possesses the Baksai Tenketsu, or "Breaking point" technique. Designed to shatter rocks in a quarry by miners, he has adapted it to be a powerful fighting technique and a useful climbing tool.

Ryoga spent years asking people how to get to "Furinkan High school" so he could fight Ranma. At this point, it is as natural to ask someone that as it is for someone to blink.

The "top-knot" is the traditional hairstyle for men of the time. The hair is never cut, and it is all bound tightly in a "knot" on "top" of the mans head. To not posess the top-knot in the feudal era is bizare indeed because it is a mark of honor.

A Bloodletter (I probably misspelled that) is the long, oval shaped groove on most combat knives. It's purpose is to allow more blood to flow out of a victim while stabbing them.

A Headman is basically the mayor. He is in charge of all things that happen in the town, and is charged with it's protection.


	3. Anger, Fear, Wounds, and Words part 1

(Refer to previous chapter for disclaimer)

Chapter 3

Black thick clouds shrouded the once peaceful valley in horrific darkness. The horizon was a memory as a fog was slowly settling in; and the land seemed to stretch on forever into nothingness beneath the oncoming storm. Two figures stood facing another, weapons at the ready, and their stares unwavering; each waiting for the other to move first. The air cooled rapidly as the torrential rain approached. A bead of sweat reflected off the blade of one of the fighters swords as it fell from his nose.

'Not much time left…!'

"Getting nervous, are you?" the second man called out with a grin. "I can wait forever you know! I have no other desire in life than this!" He waved hand in an acknowledgement of the battlefield they shared. "Kill me or I will kill you. That's all there is to it! Will you let go of all that causes you pain? Or will you just try to ignore it for a little longer?"

"_Don't even THINK you know **ANYTHING **about me!_" replied the first, barely containing his rage. "I DON'T just 'give in' to pain. And I **WON'T **just give up and _die_!"

His opponent lowered his weapon, just enough to draw attention to his face. Dark brown eyes lined with black narrowed, and the edges of his lips curled up slightly as if he had just won the battle. "How quickly people forget that which is unpleasant to them."

The firsts stance wavered, "W- what do you mean?"

The second laughed to himself, locked eyes his eyes to the first's with an expression that was the sum of a lifetime of rage and hate, and responded softly, "You already have…"

**------------**

For a few minutes they just sat their, staring at each other; both scarcely breathing. Ryoga's mouth was dry once more, but he was overwhelmed with the desire to swallow… hard.

"Gul…"

He was unable to finish swallowng as the sides of his esophagus stuck to each other and it dawned on him that he might have a larger immediate concern than the girl across from him. His hands shot up and clutched at his neck, as if he hoped to pry his windpipe open himself. Things started to feel tingly…

"W–what are you…?" The girl tried to say as her face started to blur. Ryoga leaped up and scanned the room desperately with his eyes for something to drink. The world was suddenly changing colors. 'NOTHING!' his mind screamed.

"Who are you and what…?" The girl tried again. That was all of what Ryoga heard, however as his eyes locked onto the door to the hallway. 'They must have a bathroom around here somewhere!' In a panic he made a leap for the door, and slammed into the wall perfectly opposite it. His body bounced backward from his momentum after the hard hit and fell backward. The girl, now on her feet, wrapped in the blanket, and very confused, got a little bolder, "I demand to know what you are doing in…" His body hit the floor and skidded across the room, his head coming to rest directly under her makeshift robe. Ryoga took pause to wonder why fish would be swimming around indoors.

The girl took pause as well, her mind refusing to accept that a situation so absurd as this was _actually _happening. Had she known what the man underneath her was going through, she might have acted more helpfully; as it was, when she realized what his field of vision encompassed her reaction was less than graceful.

"**_AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

The scream rocked the house, scared sleeping birds from their nests, and woke several villagers. Her leg reared back and shot foreword again, connected with the mans shoulder and sent him back across the room. His upper body banged into the lower portion of the wall and his head broke through a section of boards covering a window. 'Pretty colors' Ryoga thought as he admired the now rainbow-sherbet colored sky and the whipped cream clouds.

Things began to fade and his vision fell from the sky to rest on the lawn out front. He spied a hot pink horse sleeping on a pile of vibrating hay next to a water trough playing ragtime and… '**WATER!**' Ryoga tore the remaining boards out of his way, leapt out of the second story window and ran for the water like it was the Holy Grail… or Akane.

50 yards, 2 animal pens and a Japanese oak fence later, he stood over the trough gripping it with both hands as if he was afraid it would sprout legs and run away from him like the nearby shovel had. He gazed at the beautiful sight for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually a fraction of a second. The water was murky and cloudy-white, numerous clumps of horse saliva floated on the surface and a culture of mold laid claim to the upper-right corner of the water and ran up and over the side. At that moment, not much could have seemed more beautiful in his mind.

In a flash, he plunged his head straight into it, mouth wide open and gulped it down for all he was worth. The wooden container suddenly began to grow, slowly at first then more rapidly. Before he could pull his head back, the rim scooped his legs out from under him and in he fell. His entire body plunged into the disgusting contents and he fell down though its depths. His arms and legs began flailing wildly, desperately trying to free him from the now pool-sized water receptacle. He bumped against the inside and his legs swung around to push off towards the surface. His head suddenly broke though into the open air and he began to gulp down the precious oxygen faster than he had the now cursed water. As things began to reset themselves into normality he began to wonder why the trough wasn't shrinking back down. Suddenly a violent shudder gripped his body. 'BRRRR! I better get outta' here, this water is… really… cold…… I hate my life.'

**------------**

Deep in the nearby forest, a naked figure lying on its side began to stir; slowly, almost unintentionally at first. The body wasn't fat or skinny, neither lanky nor muscular; nondescript in every way. Fingers extended and retracted themselves, a head rolled slowly from side to side. Eyes flowed open and closed in staggered time with the mouth underneath them. Every so often the persons tongue would poke out and then recede back into its home. Limbs began to twitch and extend, gently turning the body onto its back, and the arms and legs of this person were suddenly splayed out; identifying the person to the world as a male. Eyelids ceased in their attempts to shut out the world and remained open. The arms began to bend at the elbows, as the legs bent at the knees and lift from the hips. Arms clenched and elbows pushed at the ground, placing him into a sitting position. Eyes darted back and forth randomly, as if they were being tested. His breath was incredibly random, his lungs only responding when the most desperate desire for oxygen forced them to work on their own. He craned his neck around slowly looking at what was there, not knowing why. A forceful exhalation resulted in a weak "heh…". His eyes widened in surprise: half at this newly discovered ability to make noise, the other half due to the realization of the ability to hear.

Attempting to make more noise, he responded to his lungs demands and took what he felt was his first sentient breath. As he breathed in, the sensation of pain in his chest decreased, informing him of the concept of pain. He resolved then to breathe more often. He exhaled slowly, afraid the diminishing pain would return. This time the noise was longer "hhhheeeeeehhh…" His lips turned themselves upward; it felt like the right thing to do so he allowed it.

He glanced down at his body drinking in every piece of every sensation he could find. He saw his own arm, and the strange thing at its end. "h-h-ha-nd…hand." He said aloud. The fog in his mind cleared slightly, "a-rm… shul-der… shoulder" The fog receded even more and his mouth began to respond faster, like being roused from a deep sleep. "Body… legs… feet…" a hand came up and caressed his lips. "Face…" He stared at his palm for a moment, turning it over and back again, examining it closely. "Person… self… ME!" The fog suddenly vanished, leaving behind an otherwise blank slate. Language, sensation, and sentience were all he had. It was enough for him to realize he didn't know who he was, where he was, and how he got there. Nothing else existed beyond those few past moments in which he had just awoken.

Fear is a trivial thing, really. Most never truly experience the full, raw, uninhibited, irrational terror that stops just short of insanity. People get afraid when they haven't studied for a test, people become afraid when they watch a scary movie, people are afraid when they hear odd sounds at night. But, in the end, they are blessed to not truly know what real fear is.

This is what he felt then. As it was the first true emotion he knew himself to be feeling, it was all the worse. Paralyzed with the desire to flee but nowhere to go, he began to cry; not knowing what it was. A cold shiver shot through his body and his head whipped from side to side in a desperate search for something, _anything_, that could help. A small shadow stood just out of his vision. Pushing at the ground with his hands at first, then his feet in a desperate attempt at motion, he made quick time to it. He had never seen anything before, yet he somehow knew what it was.

It was a large traveling backpack, with an umbrella strapped on top of it. He reached out and withdrew it from it's restraints. His arm registered the fact that it was heavy, but his hand and arm manipulated the 150+ pound parasol like it was meant to be served inside a margarita. He placed the top against the ground and pushed himself up, testing his legs for any use. He stood with great difficulty of balance and leaned heavily on his new crutch. With his free hand he reached into the bag and felt around for something else he knew he needed. His fingers brushed something that registered as soft and he quickly removed it from the bag. A set of dirty clothes fell out and it didn't take long for him to discern what they were for. Though it was too dark to see what they looked like

After numerous attempts and a lot of struggling he finally managed to put them on correctly; the ordeal helping to distract his mind from his fear. The soft cloth slowly cutting out the cold, made him aware of temperature. A deep snarling caught his ears and he turned himself around as quickly as he could afford without toppling over. A strange… something stood there. It was covered in short grey hair, had pointy ears, a bushy tail, sharp teeth, and was on all fours. "W-wolf…?" He said aloud. With a earsplitting howl it leaped into the air, flying at him with the full intent to kill.

The sound of flesh tearing, a spray of blood, a cry of pain, and a loud thud soon followed. The boy stood there, breathing heavily and his eyes, crazed and bloodshot, bulged out of his head. Deep crimson blood stained his already soiled clothing; it followed the course of his arm as it crossed in front of him and ran down the umbrella. Some filling the inside, the rest slowly dripping onto the ground as he held the weapon at the end of it's swinging arc, his body was leaning forward slightly in a combat position that came more naturally to him than anything else so far.

Suddenly he lost control of his breathing; it sped up no matter what he did to keep it even. His mind began to swim in confusion as the fear began to well up inside him once again. The tears came back, and flowed down his face faster than his breathing, mixing with a cold sweat that seemed to be forming everywhere on his body.

"W… what am I?" he struggled to say as sobs began to rack his body, "Who am I?" Panic, fear, confusion and sadness all swirled together inside him and overran his entire being. He felt as if he would collapse, and reached back and placed his hand upon the bag for support. Suddenly a scream rang through the trees, somewhere in the distance. Most would be even more afraid; _he_ almost felt joy under everything else he was experiencing, because it sounded more like him than the wolf had. It was a human scream. Without a second thought he clenched the top of the bag and took off running towards the sound, all the emotion inside him licked at his heels and drove him onward towards what he felt could be his only salvation as he ran for all he was worth towards the scream in the night.

**------------**

Juronai snapped upwards from his bedding, sending an empty ceramic cup used for dye and two brushes skidding across the floor. Holding his breath, he listened intently, waiting to see if the noise would repeat itself. What he heard, however, was the sound of tired footsteps shuffling down the hallway. The sliding paper door slid open violently, banged against the wall breaking the frame, and fell to the floor. "DANnniT Jurone'! You havin' nightmares agin!" His father yelled at him in a sleep deprived/drunken/hungover state of mind. "Yah FUUgin wokE mi uppagin! hOW mNay timesss dew I hafta tel ya to kEEp yer screamin' to yaself you weaking!" He violently slurred, drool and vomit remnants running down his chin.

"But it wasn't me fath… Sir." He said, his eyes downcast, knowing it was hopeless. "YoU takiN bAc!" His father yelled, moving forward in a rage, stepping on the recently relocated dye cup; breaking it. "yyyeeEEOWWWW!" His father screamed, hopping on his good foot; unable to maintain his balance. "Sir! Be careful you might…" Juronai's prediction came true before he finished speaking it as he watched his father lose his balance during a hop and shove himself into the wall behind him.

**BAM**

The wall bent inward only slightly, and his fathers head took most all the force. He fell into a sitting position and then tipped over onto his side. Five seconds later the sound of snoring could be heard emanating from his nasal cavity. Juronai stared in disbelief, "That won't help his headache in the morning." He hauled himself to his feet, discarding the numerous pieces of cloth that covered his legs. All of them were stained with the same color ink in nonsensical and uneven patterns. Yet all of them had been modeled after the same masterwork Indigo painting mounted on the wall. Being careful to avoid the shattered cup and stepped behind his father and grabbed him under his armpits. Flexing his legs he began to try and drag his father back to his room, with absolutely no success. Straining and groaning for all he was worth, all he managed to do was remind himself why he was unfit to be the warrior his father expected him to be. 'I hope he gets over his hangover _before_ he remembers that I quit my training.' Suddenly his feet slipped out from under him and the force of his pulling his father served to yank him into the ground even harder. His head cracked against the oak floors as the stars erupted outward in a second big bang one inch away from his nose.

Slowly he sat up once again, rubbing the back of his head and trying to uncross his eyes. Rising to his feet again he lifted his fathers body, locked his legs and once again pulled for all he was worth, slowly his fathers body began to slide along the floor…

**------------**

Jun'ko wasn't sleeping, he wasn't sure if he ever would again. Not to say he hadn't been trying. He had tried every trick he had ever learned to put his body to rest. Everything from light sleep to having himself knocked unconscious by a rather large rock. Although it would seem that it hadn't been large enough. As it was, he found himself sitting against the wall of his one room house, in his undergarments, faceing the opposite wall, staring across the room at a crudely drawn picture of the demon that now controlled _his_ village dieing numerous simultaneous and horrific deaths. "If that **freak** thinks he can just walk in here and steal away from me all I've had to fight for all these years, then he must have less brain power than a man with no **head**!" He spoke toward the picture.

His gaze drifted upwards toward the ceiling as he lost himself in thought. He poured over and over the fight that his men had related to him; the ones who could still currently talk, anyway. "There is a flaw in there somewhere; I just have to find it! Then maybe I can…!" A scream ripped through the village and made him jerk to his feet in shock. His mind raced through a map of the village, pinpointing the origin of the shrill cry.

A wicked gin curled up the right side of his lips as he realized where it had come from. "The headmen's house!" He grinned 'If I can catch him doing something evil, then the villagers will force him out, and _I_ won't have to do a thing!' His hand shot out and ripped a blazing torch from it's holder in the wall before throwing the door open and breaking into a flat run towards the headmen's house; yelling with glee "The demon's killing someone and I'm gonna' catch him!"

**------------**

Torchlight streamed in through the cracks of window cover-boards as Juronai felt his fathers body starting to slide along the floor.

"… demon's killing someone…!" the carrier of the torch cried out as he ran past.

Juronai didn't even stop to think, someone was insulting the name of his new idol and they had to be proved wrong. He dropped his current load and ran back into his room, ripped the cover-boards from the window, leapt through the hole in a motion he wasn't aware he was capable of and took off after the torchlight.

**------------**

The girl stared out the window in disbelief, "What just happened…?" She said aloud, thinking that if it was a dream that some noise would wake her up. She walked up to her window and gazing out trying to locate… whatever he was. 'No human could tear a demon in half with his bare hands.' Scanning the yard, then the animal pens, then the fields leading up to the forest.

Nothing

'He might come back…" She turned around, snatched her clothes up from the floor and threw them on hastily. She stepped halfway out the door and paused, turning around she went to the corner of the room to the left of the window. Kneeling down she pulled a shallow board out of the floor revealing a secret compartment. Withdrawing the contents she replaced the cover and held the item to her heart for a moment. It was a kodachi style short sword. Long, thin, straight, double edged, and clearly the work of a master. A second later she was out the door and heading down the stairs.

**------------**

Jun'ko had managed to rouse a small group of townspeople as he ran and they were almost to the headmen's residence. A building he had called home not a half a day ago. "Okay, here's what will happen!" He spoke loudly, addressing the crowd. That monster is harming someone in there, I'm gonna' go in there and haul his ass out here. Then you three," he pointed to a group of three men who were wrestling over a blanket after realizing how cold it was. (they weren't listening) "… go in there and grab whoever it was that was screaming." He commanded in a firm tone, they still weren't listening.

Just then, Juronai came staggering forward; clearly exhausted. "y…y…you can't…can't just…" he struggled to speak. But as good as it sounded in his head, his mouth refused to form the word's; giving Jun'ko a perfect dramatic opening. Shoving the torch into Juronai's hand he stepped back and struck a dramatic pose. Silhouetted against the firelight he forgot all about the fact someone might be in mortal danger in the house behind him and began improvising a speech that would help add to the possibility of his reinstatement. He had also forgotten that he was in his underwear. Just like someone else had been when _they_ ran outside.

While not near as muscular as Ryoga, Jun'ko was still well above average fitness. And in the dark, with a torch in front of him, it would be hard to make anything out from behind him.

"… has fooled us all and I…!" Jun'ko broke off his words abruptly as a long silver blade erupted from his lower right abdomen. A spurt of blood preceded it and spattered onto Juronai's face. They both stared for a moment, and then Jun'ko screamed.

The blade receded quickly following the scream and Jun'ko spun around to meet his attacker, he saw an opening and swung for it. His fist connected with a face and the body was sent sprawling onto the grass. "I'll get you for that!" He leaped forward and landed atop his assailant. Grabbing the persons shoulder he forced it to the ground uncovering the owners face. His other hand balled into a tight fist and pulled as far back as it could go. "You'll pay you…" They both froze in surprise, for a moment neither said anything. Then the girl broke the silence, "Could you get off me Jun'ko?" He just stared for a few minutes longer, he eventually managed to stammer out one word. A name, to be exact.

"Satsuki?"

**------------**

Juronai was worried, _very_ worried. His only clothes were covered in paint, mud, blood, and sweat. Jun'ko seemed to have gone mad for revenge against Onimori-sama. His father would wake up nursing a hangover, a gash on his foot, a head wound… 'Oh great!' he thought, 'I just dropped him in the hallway.' What else? _Oh yes_, his only son had given up his warrior training to paint. "I'm not gonna' walk straight for a week with all he's gonna' do to me." A strong wind picked up suddenly and muted the light of his torch. 'Better find it and get in before its to late!'

He walked slowly along the inside of the animal pens; having to peel his feet out of the mud with every step. Scanning the field quickly with his eyes he found no traces of life outside the covered pens. "Guess a storm is coming." Entering the covered area he looked around more intently. "Now where…"

BWWEEEEEE

Juronai glanced left and right, trying to identify the source of the strange noise. A sudden rubbing sensation on his ankle made him jump backward, tripping on a sleeping foal. His arms splayed upwards as he fell backwards into a trough of stagnant water. The container tipped forward and its contents were dumped onto him. The moldy, stale, cloudy, spit-ridden liquid flowed down his throat and forced its way into his nose. He came up sputtering and coughing, lifting the wooden receptacle as he rose. The mother of the foal, who wasn't happy with his close contact to her child; raised her left-rear leg and shot it out in his general direction.

"Oh…!" was all he managed to say as the stallions hoof smashed through the trough, deadening the blow somewhat, before connecting with his chest and throwing him outside the mini-stable. He landed with a splat onto the muddy ground, and just laid there, staring at the cloudy sky. "Bweee…?" Juronai could only turn his eyes to look. There, next to his head, sat a small black piglet. If he hadn't known better, he would have said it looked concerned. He slowly lifted his hand…

**------------**

Jun'ko kneeled next to the fire pit in the main room of the house. A slowly growing fire was underway, and a large spherical pot with a small flat section on it's bottom was suspended above the pit by way of a handle that arced from one side of it to another; placed inside a small hook at the end of a long pole attached to the ceiling. Someone from the village, he didn't consider worth remembering, was wrapping a bandage around his abdomen. Aside from some twinges of pain, Jun'ko's expression was all but impossible to read. Confused, excited, dejected, annoyed, the list just kept going and his muscles had stopped trying a long time ago. "So… that's hoOO**OW**Ww it is. You were just laying there when that demon with the bandana tried to rape you. Then he pretended to freak out so he could sneak a peak at your… your… y'know…, and then you kicked him away. He landed on the other side of the room, and ran out through the window. Then he just disappeared?"

Satsuki sat facing him from the other side of the pit; the hastily built fire adding some feeling of safety from the man who had just given her her most recent bruise. It sat high on her cheek, slowly swelling up and turning a dark blue. Her kodachi, replaced in its sheath and still stained with Jun'ko's blood, was being held against the small of her back between her old kimono and its waistcloth. "Yes."

Jun'ko stared, "That's all you have to say?"

"Yes."

"Nothing else you want to talk about?"

"No."

A small vain began to appear on his forehead. "Nothing you want to apologize for?"

"No."

He reached up, stroking his wound through the wrapping, accidentally opening it up even further.

"Maybe you are forgetting something?" He said intently.

Satsuki raised her eyes to look directly at him for the first time since their encounter outside. "Why would I apologize for something I don't regret?"

He leaped up fiercely, agitating his wound even more. "Now listen you little…!"

The front door slid open and two of the cover-boards fell foreword to bang against the ground. Juronai stepped in, obviously angry and very tired. A small trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. "Find anything, reject?" Juronai fumed but avoided eye contact and held up a small squirming bag. "Yes… sir. It kept trying to get away so that's why…" "No one cares!" Jun'ko yelled, snatching the bag out of his hand. He tossed it to Satsuki without looking away from the younger (and much weaker) person in the area whom he could freely vent his rage onto. "Now get out of here you pathetic little half-wit. So she can make me some dinner in peace."

The younger man's hands balled into fists, but he knew better than to attack. "If I'm just a half-wit, and you lost control of this village because of what _I _said, then what does that say about you." He knew better than to attack _physically_ anyway. "Why you little!" Jun'ko balled his fist and punched Juronai in the solar-plexus as hard as he could. The next thing he knew, he was staring at the stars again. Blood became visible through the cloth aroundJun'ko's abdomen. Satsuki stared intently, milling over what she had just heard 'Lost control of the village! To who? And how did _he_ get control of it in the first place!' She quickly rose to her feet and crossed the room, stopping just behind Jun'ko. Quickly she pulled her blade, scabbard and all, from behind her and jabbed his wound through its wrap. His body quickly stiffened as he caught a yelp of pain before it escaped his throat. He turned his head and glared daggers at the girl.

"I never said anything about cooking for you, now get out." She said in a flat but nonetheless commanding tone. Juronai sat up grinning, "Heh, I forgot you don't know how to feed yourself. Does your mother help you get dressed in the morning too?" 'Where is all this coming from' he thought to himself. Jun'ko walked up to him quickly, spat the words "You should learn to hold your tongue" at him, and kicked him in the jaw, forcing him back down. He stared down into the boys face as it contorted in pain. "And in case you didn't catch that!" He firmly stomped on the boy's chest with great pleasure as he felt and heard the air being driven from his lungs. With that he turned and started back home, glancing back over his shoulder to yell back "I figured since you will be eventually cooking all my meals for me, you would want to start practicing now!" With that, he was gone.

Juronai was once again lying on the ground, in pain. In the back of his mind a small voice calmly explained to him that it was entirely his fault that he was in this current situation. 'You know how he reacts when provoked. What did you think was going to happen? What the heck possessed you to say those things anyway, I can assure you that nothing came outta' this end.' He sat up slowly with a groan, gingerly rubbed his jaw, and forced himself to his feet. "I have some things I need to ask you," Satsuki said quietly, "Come back tomorrow, if you can." He nodded meekly in reply and turned away to head home. Groaning in pain from his injury, which flowed into a moan of dismay as he realized that he still had to drag his fathers body back to his bedroom. All in all, it wasn't a very good night for him.

Satsuki watched the small boy go for a moment, then slid the door closed again, and replaced the boards. Making sure to brace them closed at their base with some spare pieces of kindling, _hopefully_ it would keep them from being knocked down so easily. The wooden lid atop the pot started dancing as the boiling broth began trying to escape. Replacing the kodachi, and resuming her place by the fire, she felt a tug in her hand and remembered that she was still holding the bag that the boy had given her. It was still squirming madly. "Feisty." She commented without batting an eye. Gently she moved the lid from her pot aside, opening the way for the main ingredient. With her free hand she pried the small bag open and swiftly took hold of the contents; and it suddenly calmed down. Pulling the bag away, she glanced only halfheartedly at what she would soon be eating. It was a small, black piglet wearing a yellow leopard-printed bandana around its neck. "How did you get that on?" Her nimble fingers made quick work of the knot. It seemed to not have been untied in years. With her left hand she discarded the cloth, and with her right she negligently tossed the piglet into the pot, sliding the lid closed before it was entirely immersed.

The lid exploded outward in a spray of scalding-hot soup. The pole and hook were ripped out of the ceiling and dropped onto the fire. And a tall, well worked, extremely muscular, and completely naked young adult flew out of the top, screaming in pain. His skin dark red and spotted with numerous scars, he fell onto his face and began kicking his foot madly as it was stuck in a piece of metal that was all that remained of the pot, and the only piece that still retained some water. It suddenly flew across the room and banged against the wall, soaking an old ink painting, the ink quickly began to run and a second later the picture tore itself in half.

Satsuki wasted no time in leaping up and ran for the door. Grabbing the boards roughly, she pried at them for all she was worth with no results. In shock she glanced down and saw that because of her recent attempts at escape had lodged the spare pieces of wood even further into the slats. Looking behind her, she realized the demon was now staring straight at her. Desperately she nearly tore her kodachi from its scabbard and began stabbing at the kindling impediment.

Ryoga had nearly been cooked as someone's dinner, again. Secretly he was glad that it was _hot_ water that changed him back, if it was the other way around then he would have been someone's dinner years ago. He glanced around and saw that the same girl he had run into twice previously that day was stabbing at something against the wall. He stood up and walked quickly and (unintentionally) silently over to her. Glancing down and over her shoulder he saw that her victim was a piece of wood. His eyebrow poked up and he opened his mouth to speak…

"What are you doing?"

Her head jerked back in shock and she whirled around to stab him in the stomach. The knifes pointy end contacted with his body between the second and third ab-muscles on his right side, giving him no more than a paper cut. Satsuki was shocked, so was Ryoga. "Why did…?" Satsuki shot up, this time aiming for his face. The action of moving his head to dodge was so incredibly basic, he hardly realized he had done it.

The girl became frustrated and even more afraid. Pulling her hand back, and yelling with rage and terror, she began stabbing wildly at his upper body; desperate to hit something vital.

Ryoga was surprised at the blades quality; if she was any stronger he might actually have been in trouble. As it was, he hated paper cuts, and he seemed to be collecting a lot of them. On her next upswing his hand shot up and caught her wrist. She might as well have had her wrist bound in solid titanium, because it wasn't moving. She paused for a moment and then began pounding on his chest with her free hand. He caught this other hand as easily as the first and stepped back to lead her away from the wall. Fate, it seemed, placed a puddle of water underneath his foot, and he was sent sprawling backwards; forgetting to let go, the girl was dragged with him. His head banged against the floor a second before her knife stuck into the floorboards with a dull thunk five inches from his head. They both stared at each other for a moment. Reddish-brown gazed intently into grayish-blue as each waited for the other to make the next move. It was Ryoga's eyes turn to widen in surprise, as he remembered that he was completely naked. Forgetting everything else he let go of her to grasp wildly for his bandana as some form of clothing. Seizing the opportunity, she rolled off of him and ran for the door again.

Faster than most would think possible; Ryoga removed several layers of his bandana, unfolded them with inhuman speed, and wrapped them around his waist like a loincloth. Seeing that the girl was running for the door again, he reached for her quickly grabbed a handful of her kimono and pulled her back towards him. She thrashed wildly as her body fell into his lap. Without knowing why, he wrapped his left arm around hers and reached across to grab her right, gently pinning them both down…

'No No NO NO **NO**!' Her mind screamed as she struggled for all she was worth. 'Not here! Not _again_!' She suddenly couldn't move her arms, and began to cry. Suddenly his other hand reached up and began gently stroking her hair while he gently whispered "Shhhh… its okay… no one is going to hurt you." again and again. Not letting her go, but not forcing anything upon her either. Her tears of fear were washed away in adownpour of tears of the pain that had been her life for the past uncountable amount of years. Loosing control of herself, she slowly stopped struggling and felt as if she would melt into his impossibly firm body as she was carried away in a river of memories from her past life. The life that she had before the pain, before she had shut everything away.

**------------**

Torrential rain ripped at the ground and mercilessly pounded at the walls of their house as an evil wind threatened to tear the home right out of its foundations. Thunder pounded the earth like explosions, and lightning raked across the sky like dragons threatening to tear the earth asunder. A young girl of maybe eleven or twelve kicked and thrashed as she tied to escape to nowhere and anywhere. Her reddish-brown eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying, and her blonde and gold hair had partially torn loose from its lacquered-chopstick pins, and hung down over her face. Her older brother held her firmly in his lap, and gently stroked her hair while whispering reassuring words into her ear. Pulling the rest of her hair free and holding her closer to him, he felt her begin to relax. "It may _sound_ scary, but that's all it can do is scare you if you let it. Just go to sleep, I promise that when you wake up it will all be better."

The young Satsuki forced her fears from her mind as she was instructed and just let her self go. Within minutes, she was fast asleep, and miles away from anything that could possibly harm her.

**"**Big Brother**…"**

**------------**

The even rate of her breath, and drying eyes assured Ryoga that she had fallen asleep once again. "What the heck is with the people in this town? They all seem to think they're living in the feudal era or something." He started to carry her the room he first saw her in, but thought better of it. "If I tried to take her someplace now, there's no telling where I'd end up." Gently he slid her over to the fire, brushing aside the spare scraps of metal and throwing more wood onto the fire. "Better wait for her to wake up so I can explain this whole mess." Setting himself against the far wall of the room, he steeled himself for another long night. 'Come to think of it, I haven't slept for a week. Or maybe I have? How long was I in that well? And I still don't know… what happened… to… that… hut I…' "ZZZZZZZZZ." He too fell into a deep sleep, and dreamt that he lived for many years in a home of happiness and peace; a small gift, from a universe that gave him no rest.

**Author's Notes**

Holy dang this chapter is getting long. I keep writing, but I never get to the ending I had planned. Anyway, Dorkboy6666 won't leave me alone (you know who you are **_FATTY!_**), so I decided to just cut it of here and make this a two-parter. It just wont go where I want it to GO! Anyway, time for shoutouts.

Pariah2: I don't know if you have read this since the first time, but you were the first one to review. For that you have my thanks. If you are keeping up with this story, I hope you are enjoying it!

Jessica Turner: Your writing inspired mine, and continues to drive me onward. Thank you very much. Here's hoping all your wounds will eventually be healed! ;)

Psycho Pirate the Nth: Ummmm… thanks? I guess… Just what is the "Mary Sue" side of the fic anyway? Does anyone around here know?

Dairokkan: I appologise for insulting you in an previous version.

How will Ryoga explain the situation to this lost child. What did Jun'ko mean when he talked about Satsuki cooking for him? Will Ryoga figure out where he is, and who is this strange person with no past. (Yeah, I know it _sounds _cliche, just give it time to develop. It's an original idea. It's ORIGINAL dangit.)More to come in the kinda-exciting conclusion of Chapter 3: Anger, Fear, Wounds, and Words!


	4. Anger, Fear, Wounds, and Words part 2

Being Lost: Ryoga's New Beginning

Chapter 3; Part 2

The Sun crested timidly over the rough mountains to the east. Afraid that it would awaken the inhabitants of the small village that lay beyond them and causing a repeat of the previous days actions. At the edge of the trees, there slowly appeared a lone figure. He had a way about him that made him seem so unremarkable that had even a single other person been there, he would have been overlooked entirely. He wore black sweatpants covered with holes and patches, and a grey short-sleeved shirt with the pattern of a spider web on the front and three parallel slashes on the sleeves. His limbs were small and gangly, his head was bald and his eyes possessed almost no color. Panting and straining, he drug behind him with his left hand a backpack that vastly outweighed him. In his right was a red lacquered-leather and bamboo umbrella that was just as heavy.

"Where is it… must find…" He stopped and peered forward across the empty field, and saw the village in the distance. For the second time in his life (or as far as he could remember) he was overjoyed. 'Someone there can help me find that noise.' He thought to himself. With that, he dropped his load and began running toward the nearest structure. Before moving even 3 steps his fatigue stopped his legs in mid-stride and he fell onto his face. A large crack resounded through his ears and his face suddenly felt warm. As he pushed himself up, something fell onto his left hand. He looked down and saw it was completely red. 'What… how…'He turned his hand over and his palm quickly started to change its color as well. His face continued to heat up and began to feel sticky. Acting on reflex his right hand brushed at the irritation and his nose was pushed violently to the side as the blood was only smeared around. The pain screamed from every limb, every scratch, every fiber of his being for rest; but to him, rest meant death. 'Find someone, anyone… then rest…" With his hands, sore and covered in dirt and blood, he dragged himself toward the nearest structure.

----------

Jun'ko never had gotten to sleep that night, not for a single minute. He had been (and was) far too angry. And of course, now that he was out of time to sleep, he finally felt tired. In that single night, he had invented as many ways to kill Ryoga as Ryoga had in a year of hunting Ranma. Not bothering to change his clothes he gathered up his tools and went out to his old job to begin tilling the fields. "Eighteen years of fighting for scraps of respect and I'm back to where I was. Absolutely perfect!" He shouted to no one in particular, but loud enough to ensure most of the village would hear him.

The crop fields were always soft and fertile, whatever they planted hardly ever needed any attention. They just sprung out of the ground at harvest time like clockwork. Jun'ko set his tools aside and tested the ground with a finger "I can do this by hand." Slowly and gently he began to till the soil, the lifeblood of the village. It was relaxing; it calmed his mind and allowed his thoughts to wander. The few pets he'd had in the past, his father, building his own hut, moving into the headman's house, organizing the town militia (he started to dig deeper), his supposed moment of Glory when he charged a demon by himself (the line of soil began to become jagged), his being defeated (soil began to fly through the air), losing his position because of Juronai. His hand caught a large root and he ripped it out of the ground in a rage, tearing a deep and jagged line across the ground. It broke off in his hand and he hurled it at the ground screaming "DAMN YOU!"

Coming to his senses he surveyed the damage quickly. After a moment of contemplation he thought to himself, 'Wow, Juronai can go to some real extremes to get revenge. Too bad he'll have to fill it back up again since I caught him doing it.' He smiled to himself and looked up just in time to see someone slowly _crawling _into the Headman's house.

----------

Slowly, he closed the door behind him and looked around. The room was a mess, wood chips, pieces of metal, pieces of cinders and ash littered the floor. But there was something else on the floor. Its colors were different than the rest of the house. He crept across the floor and knelt down to look closer.

He identified the colors as: blue, pink, yellow, and gold. Something in his head told him he should touch it. His hand reached up and brushed the material, it was soft and warm. As he brushed it with his palm, something shifted and it fell to the side, exposing Satsuki's face. His hand shot to his chest as something inside him was wrenched and pulled violently. His breathing quickened, but not from fatigue; his heart raced, but not from fear. His mind began to cloud again, but not in the way it had been before. He reached down slowly and ran his fingers through her hair; with every passing second, his face was being drawn to hers.

---------

Ryoga reached up and cupped the chin of his son, wiping away a tear. "Don't cry Ryu, It's a part of life. Mine has been happy and full, and I have no regrets." Ryu opened his eyes and gazed despairingly at his father. Even in his old age he still seemed ready to conquer the world. No one knew why he was dying, Ryoga believed it to simply be his time to go.

"But dad…"

"No 'but's' Ryu, no one can cheat death." Ryoga Smiled.

"I don't understand though. What about that pig curse of yours?"

"Huh?"

"And your lack of direction, your fickle heart, Ranma getting your bread, never beating him, Akane hating you for being P-chan, that time you…"

"OKAY! I get it! God, I'm on my freakin' deathbed and you have to make me feel pathetic."

"Well if you don't like it so much, then why not just wakeup?"

"What are you," Ryoga's words slurred off into morning-mouth babble as he pealed his consciousness back to the real world. In truth, neither one world nor the other was fairly appealing at the time. As his vision focused, he saw that someone was leaning over the girl who had freaked out the previous night. "Hey!" he snapped. The person jumped back from the girl and stared back at Ryoga, his face, hands, and shirt, along with the girl's shoulders face and hair were smeared with blood. "What did you do!"

The boy leaped for the door, Ryoga leaped for the boy; they collided and crashed through the door in a mass of limbs and wood fragments. The two tumbled onto the grass and a lot of struggling and kicking ensued. Somehow, one knee found the others groin, and the boy jumped up to run away. Ryoga bit his tongue and forced himself after him. The boy stumbled on a rock and was tackled from behind.

"What did you do to her!"

The boy tensed violently and began to shake. Fire snaked into his veins and tore its way through his body. Low moans of discomfort morphed into screams of pain as his body convulsed violently. Ryoga froze in shock and all he could do was attempt to hold his captive down.

----------

Not to far away, behind a shrub, Jun'ko watched as things unfolded. As they stood, he was watching as some stranger covered in his own blood and tears was lying on his stomach and screaming in pain, as the resident demon was almost entirely naked and lying on top of him. Jun'ko wanted to keep watching, incase something even more incriminating happened, but he desperately needed to puke. Two seconds later he was filling in the hole he had just ripped into the field, planning to blame the new mess on Juronai as well.

----------

Juronai was busy cleaning up porcelain shards and failed indigo paintings when, for the second time that morning, he sneezed hard enough to throw himself backward.

----------

It felt as if the fire had consumed his body, the pain was so maddening he couldn't form a single sentient thought. Then he began to change. His limbs began to thicken and form, his nose straightened and re-set itself, his milky eyes turned dark brown and brown hair sprouted from his head to cover his eyes. With that, the fire cooled and released its grip on his body, and the boy was left a limp mass of flesh on the ground once again.

He moaned as the world started to come back. Ryoga had rolled off him once the convulsions had stopped and now he turned the kid over and sat him up. He started to brush the boy off and his hand caught on something. Removing his hand, he saw that there was a piece of wood stuck in the boy's chest. Ryoga yanked it out and tossed it aside. "Who is this guy, and why do his clothes seem familiar." The boys head flopped back and he stared at Ryoga, "You are like me, but not me," he breathed.

Satsuki appeared in the doorway, having been awoken by the crash and afraid to look outside because of the screaming. Her words mirrored Ryoga's thoughts, "What is going on here?"

The now brown eyes widened and his pupils narrowed 'The voice!' He threw Ryoga aside and dove at Satsuki. Like a deer in the headlights, she stood there frozen; covering her face just before he would crash into her.

It never happened.

Ryoga could only stare in absolute confusion at the person who had just thrown_ him_, that was now on his knees and hugging the girl's waist; laughing madly and screaming "You saved me!" over and over.

----------

"No, for the third time I do not know who he is, where he came from, or why he is covered in blood." Ryoga stated with increasing force. Getting his point across wasn't so bad, but he had to put his dirty clothes back on and the drying goo had made them sticky and cold.

"And it's just coincidence he looks and sounds like you?"

Ryoga turned and looked at the newest oddball he had met in his life; sitting in the corner, hugging his legs, and glancing rapidly between the girl and him. Ryoga was sure he had seen his clothes somewhere before, and his speech seemed to have a more urban accent to it than the more archaic dialect of the villagers, but the similarities ended there. In fact, Ryoga was certain the guy was American.

"He does not! How am I supposed to know anything about him anyway, he doesn't even know who _he _is. Are you sure you don't have a name?"

The boy just stared.

"Never mind about him, who are _you_ and why are you stalking me."

"I am _not _stalking you."

"The well, the bedroom, and… the cooking pot. However you did that, I don't know, but it can't be coincidence."

Ryoga knew it actually was, but was too tired to press the subject.

"My name is Ryoga Hibiki, and for the moment it seems I'm the acting headmen for this village."

The girl's eyes betrayed her stoicism for a moment and flashed in fearful shock. A look that was missed by Ryoga but noticed by the boy.

"I don't know what I'm doing here really, I'm actually lost. But this village seems to need my help. I don't need a house this big to myself; I suppose you can stay here if you want."

Ryoga turned to the guest in the corner, so he missed her second look. This time she looked angry.

"You can stay too… uh 'No-Name'." Ryoga turned back, "You have a name right?"

"…Satsuki, just Satsuki. And we can't go around calling him 'No-Name'. How about Yuichirasonia."

"No way will I remember that."

"What _will_ you remember?"

Ryoga thought for a moment, "How about… Ryu?"

----------

Somehow, Ryoga found himself carrying an old style wooden shovel, searching for a field to plow. Not that he minded it; just that he wasn't sure how Satsuki had talked him into it so easily. She would clean up the house, while he worked the fields. Simple really, he had just done it without a single thought. "Women… how do they _do _that to me?"

"Onimori-sama?"

Ryoga looked down, and there was Juronai; half naked, wrist deep in pale-green/yellow goo and mud; sporting some very large bruises and looking a little nervous.

"What are you doing here sir?"

"Is that vomit?"

"Uhmm, I guess."

"Why is that hole filled with vomit?"

"I wish I knew." Juronai snarled through an aching jaw, in the distance he saw Jun'ko as he walked past the space between two houses.

"Can I help?"

"If you want to, grab that bucket."

As Ryoga turned around to retrieve the item in question he saw that he had walked in a straight line from the front of the house to the field.

"How did I…?"

----------

'Ryu… ryu…' he rolled the word… no… the _name _around in his head. "Ryu…" he breathed lightly. "My name is Ryu…" He was still sitting in the corner, staring at the ground, thinking to himself. He was happy that they had named him, _overjoyed _in fact. But something just didn't feel right. Images in his head, that were clearly not his own, were swarming about; throwing into his senses things that he never could have conceived of on his own. People he had never seen before yet held dear. Nine people who looked like him but much taller, in fact the **world **seemed larger in his thoughts; a strange pain in his heart that he had never felt before, a woman who felt soft and warm, and a man who caused only pain. What did it all mean?

Ryu raised his head and spoke again, "Ryu."

Satsuki, who had been collecting shards of scattered metal, turned to this new sound. "What?"

Ryu looked up at her, but avoided her eyes. Looking at her face made his chest hurt. "My name… it is Ryu."

"Are you alright with that name?" Satsuki replied softly.

"It's not good name?"

"Of course it's a good name, it just seems that you don't like it."

The boy thought for a moment, "No, it is a good name; what about yours?"

"Satsuki."

"I know, but, is it good?"

Satsuki looked away from him and saw the destroyed ink painting. "It used to be good, I suppose, but now…"

Ryu saw that she had stopped cleaning, and was now staring at the floor, "Did my words make you hurt?"

Her head jerked up and she looked him in the eye as his voice snapped her out of her trance. Ryu quickly looked away. "No, they didn't; just old memories. Would you like to help me?"

Still looking away, he smiled and whispered, "Always."

----------

It is sometimes hard to tell how you should feel about your life. When you still enjoy old comforts but need to deal with new discomforts it can be fairly confusing. Some become stoic, others get frustrated, and others still let nothing bother them. Jun'ko had said 'too hell with it all' long ago and decided to just be angry all the time. Having been forced back into his old hut, sore, hungry and dirty, he was ready to skin the first thing that looked at him wrong. _Yet _he had only been out of the job for a day, and organizing troops as quickly as he had when Ryoga had arrived gained him some extra pull with the villagers. Those especially who were already afraid of him.

At this particular moment he was at the edge of the forest, as near to where "Riaga" came from as he could remember. 'There has got to be something…' Jun'ko leaned against a nearby boulder and mulled everything over again. For the past hour he had scanned the field between the village and the forest. By painstakingly drilling the militia he had put together for information and examining the field itself, he had formed a perfect re-enactment of the battle in his mind.

'He rarely struck directly; it was either in a chain of motions or retaliation.' The memories seemed to project themselves into the real world. "He carries his momentum through each strike, and was so certain that only one blow would be enough he never looked back." He reached up and adjusted the pin holding his top-knot together; suddenly a though dawned on him and he smirked. "Now I know his weakness, I just need to set him up to fall." The smirk turned into a smile as his the gears in his mind began to tick faster; formulating plans and calculating the possibilities. By the time he got back to his hut, everything had been planned.

He slid the door open and paused. Stepping back from the door he took a hard look at his once and present home. The wood was crudely cut and very rough. The roof sat at an angle and was well worn. His gaze drifted over the house nearest his and then the next, on-and-on until he had examined the entire town. 'It's crude and run down, but it's home. Once or twice someone might have left, but all through his life he couldn't remember a time when anyone had come _in _to the town.

'Why would he?' His thoughts offered, "Why would _they_?" He replied. His mind immediately stopped that train of thought, caused his stomach to growl and pointed his eyes at a man smaller than him who was carrying a basket of mandarin oranges. Jun'ko started walking towards the other man and called out to him forcefully.

----------

Yes, it was puke. For some time, all the two did was just stand and stare at it. Neither one wanted to do what they had thought of, nor wanted to think of a better idea and thus hasten the process. Just staring at it made the both of them feel sick; it was chunky, slimy, had some clear streaks, and smelled like rancid sour vegetables. 'Who _would _want to touch it?'

"Should we, maybe, scoop it out with something?"

"I guess, but then what?"

Ryoga chewed on his bottom lip. 'What could you do with a bucket of puke? They have a well instead of a river, so we can't do that. There's no way I can go into the woods, I could get lost again.' More time passed in which they stared and scratched the occasional itch. Then Juronai picked up his shovel and stepped up to the hole.

"I think I have an idea, Onimori-sama."

Ryoga got the idea almost immediately and they both got to work; and with the two of them the job was done inside of 5 minutes.

"Good as new!" the younger boy declared. And in truth, it was. The once jagged hole and disturbed ground was now just another evened-out section of the well worked field.

Ryoga nodded in approval, "Not bad. Should we start tilling now?"

"Yes, but not here. This is Jun'ko's patch of dirt. You can start on that one over there if you like." Juronai gestured to another section of untilled earth near the edge of the woods before turning and starting away.

"Wait!"

Juronai jumped and spun around quickly.

"Could you… um, show me the way?"

"But it's right there." Juronai said, pointing and looking confused.

"Well can't you just take me there?" 'God I'm pathetic.'

After a moment of staring Juronai nodded a quick "okay" and walked back towards the field. Ryoga grabbed the boys shoulder as he walked past; and they were at the new field inside of 30 seconds. Ryoga let go and Juronai immediately headed back toward the town.

"Hey!" Ryoga called over his shoulder, "Aren't you gonna' help?" His shovel sank into the soft soil as he talked.

Juronai turned around and walked backwards as he yelled back. "I will later, right now I need to go talk to Ms. Maigo!"

Ryoga kept working and called back, "Who!"

"You know, that girl you met last night, she… ooph!" He tripped on a discarded root 'How the heck did that..?' "I'm okay!"

Ryoga hadn't heard him. He was frozen to the spot. With a shovel above his head and staring at the hole he had just made. 'Maigo… Satsuki _Maigo; _as in daughter of Masakimon Maigo, the old headman!'

"Oh shit."

A shovelful of dirt fell on his head, then an orange peel hit him from behind.

"The look suits you Riaga," came a sneer from behind him. Ryoga tilted his head and squinted as he turned. To him it was clearing the dirt off his head and lack of sunglasses, but it looked to Jun'ko like blatant arrogance. "You find your place in the world, did you?"

"What is it you want?" Ryoga asked calmly.

Jun'ko cracked his knuckles, "The list is getting bigger by the moment, but right now I want my sword back and for you to leave. Scratch that." He slowly began to walk forward, "I want you to _crawl _out of here; broken and crying." At this he was nose to nose with Ryoga, staring him dead in the eye.

"You're kidding, right?"

Jun'ko grabbed a handful of Ryoga's shirt "You want to find out how serious I am? I even know your weakness! And I'm gonna' tell everyone." His lips curled up into a smile of supreme self confidence.

"You wouldn't" Ryoga began to shake.

Jun'ko made a show of taking a deep breath, turned to face the village and yelled, "Who wants to hear..!" And suddenly ducked Ryoga's fist as it nearly took his head off. 'Bingo.' He jumped away from a spinning back-fist and casually dropped into a fighting stance.

Ryoga hesitated, 'Could he actually know?'

It hadn't taken too much searching to discover the insult that had set Riaga off more than anything else. "I can't believe you'd just attack me like that, you PIG!"

Ryoga threw himself at Jun'ko. Punching and kicking wildly. 'Can't let him tell!' He threw a right roundhouse kick and Junko ducked, Ryoga planted his foot and spun into a sweep kick with his left. Jun'ko jumped over it, making no attack of his own.

'I knew it, now to just…'

Ryoga kept attacking and lost control of the direction of the one-sided fight, exactly what Jun'ko wanted. With every step and dodge he led them away from the field and towards his trap. "Maybe I won't have to tell. I bet they'll all figure it out!" A fist grazed his nose and he leapt back again. Suddenly the angles lined up and he grinned again as he prepared to move straight backward. 'Almost, just on more push.' Ryoga swung a haymaker and missed; Jun'ko jumped forward and poked him in the eye.

Ryoga balled his fists together in a double-hammer and growled in anger as he swung them downward. Jun'ko dodged again. As Ryoga's fists hit the ground, he bent his elbows and pushed off the ground with his feet; sending his body through the air in an inverted donkey kick. Again he felt no contact. As he landed, one foot extended outward and he wound his arm, the next shot would end it.

As Jun'ko saw Riaga flip over, he knew his plan would work. All his momentum would be in his next blow; Jun'ko planned to use that momentum to make Riaga brake his own hand. It was a good plan, in theory. He saw Riaga plant his feet and did a back-flip of his own. Right onto the top of the large boulder he had leaned on earlier.

"Baksai-Tenketsu!" Ryoga yelled. His finger sank knuckle deep into the granite and he held there for a second.

**BOOM**

The boulder exploded outward into thousands of jagged shards. When the smoke cleared Ryoga was gingerly brushing himself off and Jun'ko was out cold a good 40 feet away. When he turned to leave his foot inadvertently kicked something. He looked down, and there was his umbrella and backpack.

Back at the village, a farmer stood just outside the door to an average-for-the-town sized house. Without moving he yelled through the open door. "Hey, Haku! We don't gotta' move that big rock anymore!"

"Does that mean I can go back to sleep?"

"No, we still gotta go move that stump!"

"Fuck."

"Finish getting ready. I'm gonna go get that blanket back from Jinken."

----------

It had been some time since he had spoken with her, in a one-on-one sense. All the same, she was different; very different; quieter, colder and still reserved. But, given his relationship with his father and the past day, he knew how quickly and how much things could change.

"He took out every last one of us faster than we could attack. He knocked out Jun'ko at least _twice _and he was begging for mercy in the end." He noticed a stranger behind her polishing Jun'ko's old sword. "He even gave Onimori-sama his sword."

Satsuki's eyes twitched but she didn't turn her head. She didn't need to look; it was the only thing in the house she refused to clean and she already knew there was no stopping Ryu from doing something he was told.

"'We?' He fought you too?"

Juronai's shoulders sank and his polite smile faded instantly. "No. I – I ran. In fact, I'm not in training anymore."

"Alright."

"Now I'm doing Indigo – wait, huh?"

"I said 'alright'. Why?"

"I just thought you would… never mind. Afterward the town got together and decided to make him headman. The whole things a blur, really. I remember showing him the house and getting that food for you, but that's it." He chuckled softly "Now I have a few bruises I can't explain and some pieces of wood in my back."

Her mind wandered back to her return to the village; to Kithra, and the chase. She remembered watching the creature that would become the next headman tear another demon in half and bathe in its blood. Behind her, Ryu strained on his tiptoes to clean higher on the wall; having finished with the sword.

"The village knew he was a demon and they let him stay anyway?" A slight rise in her eyebrows was the only clue, besides her voice, as to how shocked she was.

"After he beat us all he took them all to the healer. Who doesn't want a demon protecting them?" A flicker of motion caught his eyes and he slowly leaned back and looked up, Satsuki looked too. Ryu, who had been told to clean the room and run out of space, was now face-up bracing his legs between two beams in the ceiling and feverously scrubbing it with a wet cloth. Satsuki responded first, then Juronai.

"What…"

"…the…"

"Hello." Said Ryu, who noticed they were staring.

Suddenly the house was rocked by a not-to-distant explosion. The three covered their ears. Juronai leaped up and ran to the door. Satsuki followed behind him cautiously.

Higher up in the room, a drop of soapy water fell from the Rag in Ryu's hand and pooled in his eyebrow. The explosion shook his foothold and he began to slip. His hands shot out again as the drop of water in his eyebrow rolled into his eye. It stung for only a moment, but was enough to make him cringe. His hand, covered with the soapy rag, slapped the beam and slipped off; throwing him off balance and dropping him to the floor. The snap was wet and thick, but the soft floor muffled the sound. For a second he layed doubled over before his body shifted and was laid prone with a thump. His head was clearly too far to the side, and through the skin of his neck you could clearly see the shape of a neck vertebrae straining to poke through. Another second passed, his eyes opened and he sat up. His hand came up and began to push at the side of his head. There was a sickeningly wet grinding noise and everything snapped back into place with one last crunch.

Juronai turned back "Now what was that?"

Ryu glanced around as if to say "What?"

Authors notes

Yeah, it took a long time to make. Too much time in fact, even if you ask me. I love this story dearly and wish that I could give it the time it deserves. I now have 2 other Love Hina fics in the works. So who knows _what _I'll get done. Everyother author who has tried to create a series of his own like I want to here gave up before the end. Let's hope that's not my fate.

Appologies again to Dariokkan, you are a very kind soul. Say hi to vincent for me.

To Penguin... um... yeah... hi.

Lastly, thank you Innortal for your great fics. And for giving me the chance to continue your work. I have the second chapter done and I will have it up soon.


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